Aesthetics
by Drowning in Ice
Summary: Ciel Phantomhive was once a fear-inspiring, yet irresistible creature as a human boy. Now that he is a demon, all of that is gone. But his butler is determined to restore Ciel's striking aesthetics.
1. Prologue: Aesthetics

Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler or any related characters.

I'm kind of stepping out of my fandom here with this story, but I so quickly got sucked into Kuroshitsuji I couldn't help but write a fiction for it. That, and I hate the second season ending with such passion that I have to put my silly little spin on it. But who knows, maybe people will read this and actually like it? If so and if not, please feel free to drop any kind of review.

* * *

Earl Ciel Phantomhive. I knew I wanted you more than anything else I had ever desired when you first summoned me. A mere ten-year-old child, beaten, used, humiliated, but not broken. Your debasement at the hands of those people steeped you in the powerful essence of darkness, but it never infused you. How could a creature so young, so fragile, so pure, look me in the eye and order me to kill a room full of people with such resolve? You afforded yourself not even a moment of hesitation, not a second to reconsider.

When you issued to me my first order... I fell...

"Sebastian, will you hurry and find me something to eat?"

"Yes, my lord."

What manner of ideas am I thinking? The notion itself is abhorrent to our kind. We are all hatred and indulgence and greed. Any trace of sentimentality, once detected, is grounds for universal ridicule and is a white flag signaling weakness.

Yet, even now as I carry your light, indifferent frame across the slums in search of a dying soul, I cannot deny the existence of these feelings. Yes, Ciel Phantomhive, I fell in love.

As you issued my first order to kill, I fell in love with your aesthetics.

A tug on my jacket pocket and the soft call of my given name alerted me. The young master pointed at a high apartment window.

"In there."

"Indeed."

I leaped up window sills and barely-attached shutters to the exposed room. A pregnant peasant woman lay still on the floor and a little girl clung to her mother's arm. I allowed Ciel to walk and he approached the two.

"Is this honestly what I must settle for?"

"I'm afraid I must look after your safety before anything else, Young Master. This is where you will be safest from grim reapers."

Ciel stared at the pair coldly. "The woman and baby are dead, and this girl's soul might as well be."

She seemed to hear his comment and looked up slowly. I was impressed at the narrowed stare she cast at him, but the young master was stoic as always.

"Don't say that... Don't say those words." That the girl was an hour away from starving to death and still managed to hiss that out was commendable.

"Young master, I'm quite sure you'll enjoy her. Pain and suffering are the salt of human souls, you see."

"You should know more than anyone else how I detest food with too much salt."

"I assure you, should does not have too much salt. Now, we must hurry, else a grim reaper may notice us."

"Very well."

I was quickly behind her, holding her wrists together with one hand and her head back with the other. She protested quite weakly, lacking the energy to give her best. Ciel knelt in front of her and promptly clamped his teeth down on her neck. Blood spattered over his face and clothing as he ate, promising stains that would never be fully removed from his clothing.

"Young Master, just because you are now a demon does not mean you must eat so sloppily." He ignored me and kept eating. I couldn't hold back a sigh at his insistence on having his way. Strange, at one point I found that utterly irresistible about him. While it suited him like a well-tailored vest, his unyielding nature seemed so uncharacteristic for a boy his age. Ironically, now it made him appear as, for lack of a better term, a spoiled brat.

Dear Ciel, is this what becomes of you after you lose direction? All of those characteristics that made you so exquisite fall apart in shambles? You mimic a once-beautiful sculpture laying in broken and unattractive pieces on the floor? You were once a sophisticated mosaic of pieces that seemed impossible to juxtapose. Rarely was one not captivated by your coldness and passion, your vulnerability and resolve, your intellect and naivete, your vindictiveness and understanding, and most striking: your maturity and shocking youth. I now see that the factor that arranged them so artfully was your need to punish those who had wronged you. With that need satisfied, all the components lie disconnected and unimpressive.

"Let's go, Sebastian." The young master stood after finishing off the child. I quickly stood as well and produced a handkerchief from my pocket.

"First off, we must return to my estate immediately and get you into more presentable clothing, sir," I told him as I wiped blood from his face.

"Fine, fine," he complied, swatting me away as soon as he had the chance.

I lifted him and carried him away, taking the quickest route to the nearest devil gate. "Young Master, we're going to need to get you accustomed to eating souls available in Hell if you intend to stay safe."

"That's a silly idea. If I were to ever run into danger with the grim reapers, it's your responsibility to protect me. I see no reason to eat stale souls because of the likes of them."

"You can be so ruthless."

"I intend to stay that way."

There it was, one of the vestiges of the young master I once served. Those displays were often incredibly true to his former character and incredibly fleeting, as if to mock me.

To experience that intoxicating brew that was Ciel Phantomhive just one more time... I can't think of a single thing I wouldn't do. If I can never devour your soul, then I am determined to enjoy our eternity together to the furthest extent of my capability.


	2. His Master, Humiliated

Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroshitsuji or any related characters.

But I am flattered by the response I'm getting for this fic. The first chapter was just a short intro and I already got two reviews within twelve hours and almost a hundred hits in less than a day? (As you can see, I'm not used to this.) But enjoy, especially considering the real chapters are much longer than the first.

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Sebastian's estate was quite similar to that of the Phantomhives, aside from the fact that everything was far darker in the realm where demons made their homes, and nearly everywhere the sounds of tormented human souls were audible. Ciel had quickly become accustomed to those screams, as well as the threatening glances from the demons that caused them. As a newborn demon, he normally would have been a prime target of bullying from the others, but they knew better than to lay a finger on the childlike soul that was always being guarded by their superior. Sebastian was apparently a very high-ranking demon, with several hundred demons under his authority in addition to his large home.

Sebastian had tried to underscore the importance of his position as he explained to Ciel why he would need to leave the boy's side for a day. It was hard discerning whether his explanations were working slowly or not at all.

"I still don't see how this little gathering of yours is more important than your contract to me," Ciel argued, folding his arms and frowning up at his butler.

"Young Master, these annual meetings are directly important to my ability to serve you," Sebastian explained.

"They can't be too dire if you managed to miss three consecutive years."

"If I miss too many, I'm likely to lose my rank."

"Do you think I care about your rank? Your sole duty is to me alone."

Sebastian nearly shivered from the iciness of the statement, delivered with an equally cold blue-eyed stare. "Young Master, please understand that my standing dictates not only my right to own servants, but also my mobility and my freedom to be a party in binding contract."

Ciel gasped. "Even one already in place?"

"Indeed."

"Fine. You may go. But understand that I expect you back as soon as the meeting is over."

"Of course, my lord. And worry not, even in my absence, you will never be completely alone." On the open window sill, a shiny black figure perched watching the conversation between the two.

"The birds?"

"Young Master, they're more than just crows. They've served the bearers of the mark I wear since before I even came into existence. They know all the comings and goings of my servants, my contract beneficiaries, and myself."

"When will you be leaving?"

"Promptly. Currently, I expect I'll be over ten minutes late."

"Then hurry."

"Yes, my lord."

x

In a meeting room in an enormous dark palace, a stone table sat with twelve varied pentagram symbols etched into it. One by one, demons entered the room either by the staircase up to the room or through the open windows. Each found his place at the table and touched his symbol to make it glow. They continued to signal their presence until nine demons were seated before their respective symbols. A crow flew into the room and landed on the table. It walked up to one of the unlit symbols and pecked at it until it lit up, then fluttered over to perch on the corresponding chair.

"Well, that explains that empty chair," one of the demons said.

"The Black Butler's missing another meeting?" another asked. "This is the fourth year in a row! What kind of business could he have that takes four years to complete?"

"At this rate, we may need to have him removed from our circle."

"I want to know what's going on with that spider demon. It's quite unlike him to not even send a messenger. The Demon Sheath as well."

"If we don't get any word by the end of the meeting, I'll send a few of my servants to look for them."

"That won't be necessary," a calm, polite voice responded from the window. The Black Butler stood on the sill, a few loose feathers floating around him. "Please excuse my tardiness, but I thought it better to be late than miss yet another meeting." He promptly took his place in front of the glowing symbol on the table that matched the one on his hand.

"Do tell, why is it that we don't need to look into the whereabouts of the Spider and the Sheath?" a demon asked.

"Because a few months ago, an incident occurred relative to my current contract, and I was forced to dispatch the two of them."

"Oh my," another responded. "Now we'll have to go through the trouble of replacing them."

"Shall we go through this process quickly?" yet another demon asked. "I suggest we make this a closed selection – candidates will be chosen strictly by nomination from within our council. That way, they can be chosen in a special meeting tomorrow. Those in favor?" Ten hands were raised in favor of the nomination proposition. "By unanimous decision, the next holders of the fifth and ninth seats will be chosen tomorrow and selected from nominated candidates. We will now announce our nominations."

They went around the table, either announcing a name or refraining from doing so. When the Black Butler's spot was reached, he responded with a knowing smile, "Ciel Phantomhive."

After nominations were finished, they moved to general business transactions. The Black Butler was the first to speak. "I've compiled a list of certain assets I will not be needing. If anyone would be willing to take some of them off my hands, I would truly appreciate it."

"What's the catch, Butler?" one demon asked. "We all know you're hatching up some scheme in that little head of yours, you old crow."

"The catch? When have I ever offered a dishonest business transaction?"

"You may be one of the few demons who never lies, but you do tend to conveniently leave out details. How could you possibly benefit from giving away your property?"

The Butler readily produced a paper from his pocket, and the other demon took it to read it. "If you would review the list I've created, you'll see it is comprised of small, hard-to-access parcels of land, mostly-unused portions of my estate, and several of my laziest or most troublesome servants. Being that I am still under a demanding contract, it would be most beneficial for me to simply rid myself of these distractions from my contractual duties. Nothing of great value is listed, so you should only be interested if you would simply like to add to your land area or servant count."

All of the demons present accepted some small portion of his list, and the Butler signed off his belongings until the list was exhausted.

"Very good. My business issues are concluded."

The meeting carried on, as demons around the table made more transactions, struck deals, and exchanged favors. The Black Butler took no part in them and instead seemed to be waiting for the meeting to end. It finally did after a few more hours of business talk, a little squabbling here and there, and several procedural formalities.

After it ended, the Black Butler immediately walked straight to the window where he entered, his crow perching right next to him. "Come along, it appears we must return to the young master with all haste." He jumped out the window as the crow took off in flight.

x

Ciel wandered Sebastian's estate, bored with watching servant demons ripping dead humans apart before finally eating them. He eventually opted to go outside to the garden, which was quite peaceful with the absence of Sebastian's servants. They were forbidden from the garden unless specifically told otherwise, making it one of very few places where humans' screams weren't constantly ringing in his ears.

Ironically, the garden was filled with nothing but various types of white roses. Then again, knowing Sebastian's affinity for irony, it figured that he would find a way to produce white roses in a realm where plants were typically black or nearly black.

As Ciel walked through the near maze of a garden, he couldn't shake off the feeling that he was being followed. Every time he turned though, all he saw was a black bird's beady eyes staring at him from a tree or a rosebush. He had to convince himself to settle down after the fourth time.

"You're behaving like a frightened girl," he mumbled to himself.

"Indeed," came a low voice from behind a row of tall rose bushes. "You're a big boy, aren't you? Or are you?" A blue-skinned demon appeared from within the thorny plants, baring its teeth at him and lowering its head. It walked on four limbs, but it also had an extra pair of arms.

"I would advise you to leave immediately," Ciel responded. "You know servants aren't allowed in the garden."

"Fortunately for me, I won't be bound by that rule." It lifted its head and grinned, displaying a pentagram symbol on its chest that Ciel had never seen before. The newborn demon automatically knew this was bad news.

"Sebas-ack!"

The crows cawed as a second demon seized Ciel by his throat, quickly silencing him. "There's no need for any of that, boy. We just wanna play with the new kid everyone's talking about." It tossed him to the ground, leaving him coughing and trying to regain his breath.

"Seb-ah!" A third demon appeared and bit down on his shoulder.

"Looks like we're going to need to keep him from calling for help." A small hand pushed into his mouth and stayed there to keep him from calling Sebastian's name. Two more demons bit down on his wrists and pulled, spreading him similarly to how he often saw human souls being tortured. He bit down on the hand in his mouth, soon drawing bitter-tasting blood. He was reprimanded with a smack to the back of his head, but it did nothing to deter him.

"Stop it, you little wretch," the hand's owner growled. He only bit harder in response, finally drawing a frustrated scream. "The little rat bit my hand off! You'll pay for that!" He tried to spit out the extremity, but it only pulled itself deeper into his mouth, making him gag.

Ciel looked up and realized he was quickly being surrounded by several stronger demons intending to enjoy breaking a new toy. Memories of that month after his tenth birthday came flooding back to him. _Am I going back into the cage? Sebastian... Where the hell are you?_

The surrounding demons rushed to him and immediately started clawing and biting wherever they could reach often pushing and striking each other just to get closer to Ciel. He imagined that this must be how it felt to face the death penalty in Houndsworth, a shower of teeth and claws with no other aim than tearing up as much flesh as possible. He could only manage to give muffled screams with the hand in his mouth, and the harder he tried to remove it, the further it crawled toward his throat. He couldn't just lie on his back and cry... but that damned hand... well it wasn't like choking to death was any concern...

He braced himself and swallowed hard. "Sebastian!"

One of the demons yelped as it was thrown into the air. The others scrambled as a black figure tore through the crowd, yanking limbs from bodies and crushing bones.

"What the hell happened?" one of them cried.

"The brat swallowed my hand!"

With no one holding him, Ciel collapsed and stared blankly in front of himself. A large black bird landed in front of him, snapping its beak and tilting its head. It waddled closer and pecked at his hand. Ciel swatted at it weakly, sending it fluttering off to the nearest tree. Once Sebastian seemed satisfied with leaving the offending demons scattered in bloody pieces on the ground, he leaped after the bird. As it tried to fly from the tree branch, he caught it in the air and immediately hurled it against the ground.

"Young Master!" As Sebastian rushed to Ciel's side, two smaller crows began to peck at the bigger, motionless bird. The younger demon was beginning to feel sicker and sicker by the moment, and his head felt like it was spinning the moment his butler lifted him from the ground. He heard a screech from the larger bird and it flew off, the two smaller ones cawing after it.

Ciel gripped the collar of Sebastian's coat and tightly as he could manage while he was being carried off. "You're... You're late..." he said before letting go, the ill feeling becoming overpowering. He felt incredibly faint and quieted down after that. Through half-lidded, foggy vision, he watched rooms change as he was taken into Sebastian's estate and up to the master bedroom. "Sebastian. What's going on?"

"Shh." He placed Ciel on the bed and covered him with the sheets. "You're safe now, Young Master. You're going to feel quite sick for the next few hours so I suggest you try to sleep."

Ciel rolled over and buried his face into the pillow, eventually managing to grasp the sleep his sickness was seeming to hold hostage. He later woke up to a mild headache and grunted at the pounding in his head.

"Try to refrain from sitting up too quickly, my lord. You're wounds are still healing and I imagine you'll have quite a headache."

"Sebastian." He turned to look at the butler standing at his bedside. "What happened?" He sat up slowly as advised, his headache still managing to worsen a bit.

"It would appear you're more famous than I thought. I knew my own servants would need to be told not cause trouble when they found out I had returned with as small a companion as you, but it seems other demons' servants wanted to bully you as well. I'd expect them to know better than to trespass like that, but I see that was a mistake."

"Why do I feel so terrible?"

"According to one of the offenders, you ate her hand?"

"I did. Why?"

"There's a reason we demons never turn to devour each other. Eating one's flesh makes us violently ill, and enough of it has been known to cause the death of demons." The disturbed look on his master's face was easily readable, and Sebastian smiled. "Don't worry, if those ruffians outside survived facing me, then eating one little hand isn't enough to kill you."

"They're still alive?"

"Of course, my lord. At the time my focus was on removing you from the area, and especially after hearing you swallowed a demon's hand, I had to make certain you would be alright. Though I'm certain she won't be expecting it back."

Ciel made no response to the humored remark at the end and instead stared down at the blanket. "How could those things live to brag about what they've done? Sebastian, I want the name of every one of the demons involved with what happened out there!" A list of names was placed on his lap, each with one of nine pentagram symbols next to it. He looked at it and skimmed the list. "This is all of them?"

"Of course. What would a Phantomhive Butler be if he couldn't do such a thing?"

"Good. Now the only problem is finding them."

"Well, Young Master, would you be willing to take a place in a den of monsters among demons to reach them?"

"Sebastian, as a human, I made it my job to police London's Underworld with your protection. As long as you're willing to throw yourself before those monsters among demons for me, which I know you will, I have nothing to worry about. And if they stand in my way, I don't care how strong or powerful they are. They can be knocked out of the way just as easily."

A smile lit Sebastian's face at Ciel's statement. "Now that's what I expect to hear from my young master."


	3. His Master, Seated

Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler or any related characters.

If you're interested in weird crap like the sources I use for my OCs, I'll have them up on my page (eventually). If you don't give a damn because they're just OCs and serve no purpose in and of themselves, please, enjoy the chaper.

* * *

Sebastian and Ciel appeared for the meeting early, giving Ciel time to study the symbols etched into the center table before the others appeared. Surely enough, the demon marks displayed on the table were the same as those that were labeled on Ciel's assailants the previous day, save for three of them. One was the very same mark on his eye and on Sebastian's hand, the second he had seen on Alois Trancy's tongue, and the third he recalled belonging to Hannah. It only made sense that those marks had not been present the previous day. Sebastian took his seat in front of his mark with one of his crows perched on the table. He touched the symbol, making it glow.

"What exactly is the purpose of this council?" Ciel asked, walking with his cane to somewhat disguise his still-dizzy and slightly painful gait.

"It has no name or specific goal. It is simply a gathering for the most powerful demons to make exchanges with one another without the need to tear each other's throats for acres of land. At our meetings, we advertise opportunities to use each other to gain property and receive favors and the like."

"It sounds like the silly parties nobles throw in the world of the living to show off their riches."

"It can get that way, but the perquisites are quite worth it. For example, only members are guaranteed to freely form contracts without third-party interference. In addition, we have more freedom to move between this world and that of the living. Of course, the trade-off is that there's no one over us who protects us from the likes of angels and grim reapers."

"Quite true, but such protections would only make life boring, now wouldn't they?" a female demon asked as she entered from the staircase, a black snake resting itself around her neck.

"Indeed they would." Ciel turned to the source of the answering voice. A man dressed in all black stood in the window, attended by a large black bird on his shoulder. Ciel noticed with some surprise that the man looked just like Sebastian, the only apparent difference being his eyes. Whereas Sebastian had striking blood-red eyes, this man had narrower pitch black eyes. "Black Butler. Fancy seeing you here."

"Now what's this here?" The female demon stepped up to Ciel and leaned close to get a better look at him. "This demon... He's an infant. Is he a new servant of yours?"

"Dear Nixie, do try to have a bit more respect toward my nominee for the vacant seats. He shall be introduced later, but his name is Ciel Phantomhive."

"This is your nominee? But he has such an innocent little face. I'd cuddle the tiny creature before I'd do business with him." She reached to touch his cheek, but he quickly slapped her hand away.

"Do _not_ touch me so freely," Ciel told her, giving her a frozen blue-eyed stare.

Her snake hissed, but an amused smirk lit her face. "Well. It looks like you've got some sharp little fangs, don't you?" She straightened up and moved to her place at the table. "You're all the more interesting, Ciel Phantomhive."

"In that case, allow me a brief informal introduction as well." The unfamiliar man stepped down from the window and walked toward Sebastian and Ciel. "I was nominated by the Lake Nixie for the one of open seats. You may call me the Black Thief. And _you_." He turned to regard Sebastian. "You couldn't have the decency to nominate your own kin? I'm quite disappointed. When I received word that I was being invited by the Nixie rather than you, I started to entertain the hope that you were dead. But I suppose that would have been too easy, wouldn't it?"

"Try to keep in mind," Sebastian began, "I do have to attend to matters much more important than you in my daily activities. Priorities are priorities, and kinship alone plays no part in mine."

"Kinship?" Ciel asked.

"Of course," the Nixie responded. "The Black Butler and the Black Thief have such close resemblance I'm shocked you didn't notice."

"Yes, I see."

"Did I hear mention of the Black Thief?" Another demon came up the stairs, this one holding a large white rat in his hand.

"Indeed you did," the dark-eyed demon answered. "I don't believe I've seen you in nearly a century."

Council members continued to file in, some of them accompanied by their nominees, all of them welcoming toward the Thief. Ciel noticed the way Sebastian sat back silently with as sulky a look as he would dare display in front of others. "You don't seem very excited about today."

"These greeting rituals can be so tedious," he said quietly enough that only Ciel would hear him.

"What's the matter? Are you growing tired of hearing people talk less about the Black Butler and more about the Black Thief?"

"I find the man insufferable."

Said demon cut between them to address Ciel. "You'll have to forgive him; he tends to sulk like this when I steal too much of his spotlight. About fifteen hundred years ago, we were what you'd call kissing cousins, and now he behaves like this."

"I wish you wouldn't discuss that in front of people," Sebastian sighed. "It's incredibly bad taste."

"Right you are. Perhaps you'd like to discuss more recent affairs. Like why you attacked one of my ravens yesterday."

"Because it was trespassing on my estate, simple as that. It's customary to be welcomed to someone's home before showing up. I would expect respectable creatures of its sort to be above petty spying."

"What else was I to do after hearing my dear little crow has returned from a three-year trip to the land of the living?" He faced Ciel and folded his arms. "The man's back for three months and I never get so much as a letter. That just isn't right, is it?"

"If you found more meaningful uses of your time than devising ways to have me killed, you wouldn't have this problem to deal with."

"Meaningful. As if I find anything meaningful."

"You do. And it's the reason you have yet to try to kill me personally if I might add."

"Once again, you make a fine point. Clearly it's been far too long since I last had a conversation with you."

"Would the both of you stop babbling?" Ciel cut in.

"Of course; how silly of us, carrying on like hens," the Black Thief agreed. "The meeting is about to start, so if you'll excuse me, I'll be taking my place with the Nixie. It was a pleasure meeting you, young Phantomhive."

The meeting was called to order by an old-looking demon attended by an owl. "We've called a special meeting today in order to fill the seats vacated by the Spider and the Demon Sheath. Will each nominee step forth at the call of his name or title: Krut, nominated by myself, Andras. Furcifer, nominated by Yako. Huldra, nominated by Firneus the Kraken. The Black Thief, nominated by the Lake Nixie. And lastly, Ciel Phantomhive, nominated by the Black Butler.

Several of the seated demons burst into laughter as Ciel joined the other four nominees.

"That crow is quite the comedian," one of them howled.

"Leave it to him to joke around at a time like this!"

Ciel gave an annoyed huff and glared at Sebastian, who simply smiled back at him pleasantly.

"Really, where's your actual nominee? He's gotta be here somewhere!"

"He's standing right in front of you," Sebastian answered to another round of laughter.

"It appears to me that my dear relative isn't joking," the Black Thief said.

Firneus the Kraken stroked a small octopus that hung around his neck. "Well. It looks like that's one competitor down. I really will never understand what's going on in that head of yours, Black Butler."

"Settle down, settle down," Andras, the elder demon called out. "Now, in order to be eligible for a position at this table, you all must fulfill a property requirement. Please present proof that you own substantial property within the world of demons or the world of humans."

The bird-like Krut produced a small book filled with blood thumbprints from humans. The deer-headed demon Furcifer gave a listing of eighty-eight weaker demons under his command, apparently a large number for non-members, judging by the reactions to it. Huldra, a very beautiful but cow-tailed young woman also produced a book of blood signatures, all left by captivated male human souls. The Black Thief displayed a partial listing of his demon servants and the written deed to his estate, signed with his own demon mark.

It was then Ciel's turn to give proof of substantial property ownership. "I wasn't told that I would need any documents of the sort. But..." He set his cane in front of himself and leaned slightly forward on it, making eye contact with the seated demons. "In the land of the living, I was the head of the Phantomhive household and president of the Funtom Toy Company. In addition, I am under contract with the demon Sebastian Michaelis. He belongs to me, therefore, all of his belongings including his 563 servants and his land holdings are ultimately mine as well."

"Well played," Sebastian applauded.

"It would have been nice to know about the requirement beforehand."

"You only have yourself to blame for not asking."

Andras' owl screeched and flapped its wings. The demon spoke up to interrupt the potential argument. "Without further ado, we shall move on to the real challenge for our prospective seat holders. You will all fight, and the two left standing will assume the seats. It's that simple. Now, if you'd like to make your way to the ballrom so we can begin promptly-"

"If my understanding is correct, contracted servants may fight in our place if we so choose?" Ciel interrupted.

Andras narrowed his eyes at Ciel. "Yes, boy. That is correct." He regarded the demons at the table and added, "You would be well advised to consider it carefully. If your servant were to win for you, and for any reason you lost that particular servant, you would be forced to reprove the right to your seat." He flicked his wrist toward the boy in conclusion. A few gasps sounded from around the table as the Black Butler was instantly standing in front of Ciel, holding something. He revealed three incredibly sharp feathers in his hand and smiled at Andras.

"Now, now Andras. We can't have a contestant injured before the event starts, now can we?"

The demon scoffed and pet his owl. "No. I guess not."

"Well executed, little crow," the Black Thief commented.

Ciel gave a triumphant _hmph._ "As you clearly see, I have no doubts in my butler and no reason for them. So if you don't mind, I'd like to get through with this." He leaned forward a bit more on his cane. "Children can get quite anxious to show off when they know they're going to win, you know."

"I must second the sentiment," the Black Thief agreed. "I'm quite ready to regain my seat, after all." He ushered the group down the staircase to the enormous room immediately below. "Come along, let's allow ourselves more room to play, shall we?"

Ciel walked close to Sebastian as the others got up from their seats. He couldn't help smiling as he heard whispers and murmurs buzz among them, including a giggled "Did you see the look on Andras' face?" Once they reached the large ballroom, the Black Thief continued moving demons to their places as if he had done it a hundred times. Once the council members lined the wall and the other three prospective seatholders were stationed at the center of the room, he approached Ciel.

"I take it you won't be participating directly, young demon?"

"No. Sebastian, take care of this."

"Certainly, Young Master." As Sebastian and his relative walked to the center of the room, Ciel noticed that the Black Thief was a full head taller than Sebastian. He added that to the very short list of distinctions between the two. So far, they were nearly identical, even in their extremely polite demeanors. He could see the two being related, though he wasn't exactly sure how demons could be kin.

"It appears that this little fight is just a formality now that the two of us are participating for two open seats," the Thief commented.

"Oh, Sebastian is the Black Butler?" one of the audience asked.

"I'm afraid that cannot be permitted," Andras said. Ciel was quickly realizing he didn't like the owl demon. "Seated members are forbidden from acting as intermediaries for final selection of new members."

"Sebastian is my contracted butler. He's not an intermediary; he's my subordinate, so I don't see what the problem is." He removed his eyepatch to reveal Sebastian's mark. "I assume you've seen this mark before. He belongs to me and is bound to my orders as long as I hold this mark. It was clearly explained to me that everything he does in accordance to it supersedes all responsibilities here."

"That's only half-true, boy. That rule only applies to contracts made with a human."

"Again, I don't see the problem. When we established our contract, I _was_ a human."

Andras glared at Ciel without answering, as if considering his response carefully. He apparently thought better of trying to harm him again and instead simply said, "Very well."

The Black Thief smirked and leaned down to Sebastian's ear. "You know, little brother, I think I may like this child." Sebastian instantly cast him a warning glare, his pupils slitting. The Thief laughed and patted Sebastian's back. "I never grow tired of that look. Let's get started, shall we? I will allow the honorable Marquis Andras to commence the fight."

"Go," the owl demon said immediately.

Ciel watched in silent confidence as Krut, Furcifer, and Huldra attempted to take down the two stronger demons first. They were easily defeated, following the Thief's expression of disappointment in the weaker demons' predictability. Polite as always, he then ushered everyone back upstairs and to their seats.

"It appears that our two newest members will be Ciel Phantomhive and the Black Thief," Andras announced. "To confirm their placement, each must either inherit a mark or placing his own. In inheriting a mark, you will be responsible for all properties, contracts, and other responsibilities under it."

"I will inherit a mark," Ciel said.

"Then you may choose the one you want, since I'll be using my own," the Thief offered.

"Very well, I choose the Spider demon's symbol." He walked up to his place and looked down at the five-pointed star.

"Now," Andras continued, "our new members will place their left hands over their respective marks until they have fully received the symbol."

The Thief placed the palm of his left hand over the late Hannah's symbol, and Ciel did the same with Claude's. He was expecting some sort of reaction from the mark, but what he did not expect was the sharp pain that shot up through his hand and arm and spread through his entire body. He squeezed his eyes shut and cried out in pain, but he refused to move his hand away. He then felt his free hand being lifted from his side and stroked gently with gloved fingers.

"Try to hold on, Master. This is the most difficult part, but it lasts only until your mark appears on your hand."

Ciel opened his eyes and saw his butler standing beside him. He quickly slapped Sebastian's hands away. "I didn't ask for any comforting. Now, return to your seat immediately and let me handle this myself."

Sebastian chuckled at Ciel's reaction. "As you wish, my young lord."

Ciel managed to remain in that position, his free hand clenched in pain. He finally screamed as the symbol glowed on his hand. The pain halted, leaving him with a dull ache all over and a nausea that was back with a vengeance. He fell back in his seat, hoping that the room would stop moving soon. Across the table from him, the Black Thief still had his hand pressed to the table, tense and grunting from the pain. His mark appeared on his hand and he pulled away panting. Once he regained his composure, he promptly straightened himself and sat.

"Ciel Phantomhive and the Black Thief are now officially our newest members," Andras announced. "Black Butler, since you are familiar with both of them, why don't you provide the introductions?"

"Absolutely. Though most of you know me as the Black Butler, represented by crows, I would appreciate it if you would call me by my given name Sebastian Michaelis. I find it only appropriate to first introduce my master, Ciel Phantomhive, who now presides over the Spider mark. He's joining us at the very tender age of three months."

Ciel cast him as annoyed a glare as he could manage through his dizziness.

"Also, we are welcoming back the Black Thief. He is served by ravens and specializes in obtaining rare or high-risk valuables for his contract beneficiaries. The Marquis Andras presides over owls and is a skilled sower of discord among humans. The Lake Nixie, presiding over snakes, is both an experienced seductress and extraordinary musician. Firneus the Kraken, represented by the octopus, primarily functions at sea to ensure the safety, or destruction, of traveling ships." Sebastian continued making his introductions, but Ciel found himself unable to pay attention very well with the overwhelming nausea distracting him. He had not even realized the meeting was over until Sebastian touched his shoulder. "What shall we do now, my young lord?"

Ciel stood and Sebastian handed him his cane. "First I'd like to view this estate I've acquired, along with any servants under it."

"Excuse me, dear boy." The Black Thief approached the two and Sebastian held his arm in front of Ciel protectively. "I've been in and out of this council quite frequently, so I'm rather familiar with most everyone here. In fact, you're the only one I don't know very well. You're invited to visit my manor anytime you wish so that we may get to know each other better."

"I have business to attend to, so it would be easier for you to visit my estate at your leisure. I take it you know the location since you know this council so well. Just keep in mind that I won't tolerate you getting in the way of my work."

"Duly noted. And I look forward to visiting with your butler as well." He looked to Sebastian. "Are you sure your contract won't get in the way of your membership here?"

"Quite the contrary. I'll need to make sure none of my duties here interfere with my contract with the Earl Phantomhive."

"I've always quite admired that about you. Always giving your all to your contractual duties. Well, it's about time for me to go and tend to some obligations of my own. Expect to see me soon, young Ciel."

After the Thief turned and left, Sebastian sighed. "Please tell me you don't plan to subject me to any more of his presence than absolutely necessary?"

Ciel smiled at the prospect of forcing him to grin and bear his annoyance. "I'm sure you've done something to deserve it. Besides, I believe it could be convenient to be on good terms with him should I ever need a master thief in the future."

"Just be careful that he's stealing _for_ you and not stealing _from_ you."


	4. His Master, Remorseless

Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler.

This chapter's a little short, but at least it has spiders!

* * *

Ciel walked the grounds of his newly acquired estate with an observant eye, noting the size and design of each room. Sebastian saw that great care would need to be taken to dust the place without disturbing the spider webs. It sounded much easier said than done. The manor was eerily quiet, even to the point that their footsteps echoed. It was quite a contrast to the constant sounds of torture heard at Sebastian's estate, and Ciel couldn't stop wondering at the cause of the silence.

"Where are all the servants? Certainly that Claude Faustus had _some_ demons serving him."

"It would appear that they left after the death of their master, but the should have returned after receiving a new master."

"Go see if you can find any lying around here. I'm going to have a look at the upstairs rooms." He heard an obedient "Yes, my lord" as he headed toward the nearest staircase. It, like much of the house, was quite dusty from the months without use. Apparently whatever servants once occupied the manor left a long time ago. Of course, all the corners were inhabited by spider webs of various sizes. It was going to take some adjusting before he could see all those webs and not feel like the house was in a constant state of neglect.

Once upstairs, he scanned the insides of a few guests' rooms and a master bedroom. Ironic that no demon truly needed sleep, yet demons' estates typically contained several bedrooms. The last room he came across was a large study. The writing desk was neatly kept and seemed to be the sole object in the house without spider webs and dust all over it. Papers, a pen and ink, and a glass paperweight were arranged on it perfectly. The only thing that seemed out of place was the enormous brown tarantula that rested at the center of the desktop. He came to the edge of the desk and it leaped up onto his hand. It stayed there for a while and ran one of its legs over the pentacle on Ciel's hand. Once it seemed satisfied with this, it crawled up his arm. Ciel wanted to swat it away, especially once it reached his neck and he felt it pulling itself up the side of his head. However, Sebastian and the other demons seemed to respect their attendants, so he thought it would be a good idea to learn from the ancient demons.

"_Ciel Phantomhive."_

He was startled to hear the spider actually say his name. Actually, he felt it in his mind rather than heard it as the tarantula's little legs pattered through his scalp. Nonetheless, it surprised him quite visibly, but the spider continued about his business. It crawled over his forehead slowly.

_" You are not a spinner of webs, my master. You are a trap spider."_ It pushed two of its legs under his eyepatch and touched his closed eyelid. _"Contract seal of a certain crow. Sebastian Michaelis. Butler. Contract to be terminated after one eternity."_

Just how old was that thing? Sebastian spoke of events hundreds or even thousands of years past with surprisingly clear memory, but the spider said "one eternity" as if it was just one month or one year.

"_I am older than this universe, my master."_

Ciel gasped. It knew his thoughts as well. And it was beyond ancient. He had no idea _what_ to call a creature that was older than time itself. It, however, seemed not to dwell on the topic as it jumped down to the desk.

"_The servants have neglected this space. My master. But we have tried our best to keep the study and the balcony acceptable. The study and the balcony are good places for a trap spider."_

He looked out the glass door. As he stepped out onto the balcony, he could see for miles over the dark landscape of Hell. The spider was right; the manor and this balcony were so placed that it was nearly impossible to sneak up on the estate.

As if to prove that it was indeed possible to sneak up on the estate's owner, the sound of feet on the balcony made him quickly turn. He just barely missed a set of claws trying to slash at his face.

"It's you," he simply stated. A small female demon with large horns and a very frog-like appearance glared at him, her right hand missing from her arm.

"You took my hand, you little worm!" she shrieked.

Ciel laughed at her. "You were foolish enough to give it to me. You must be quite brave to trespass on another lord's land not once, but twice to target me." The pentacle representing Andras was clearly marked on her forehead. "Sebastian! Take care of this!"

"Your protector won't be coming to save you. The others have ambushed him and are probably on the way up here right now."

"Young Master, are you harmed?" Sebastian stepped out onto the balcony from the study. His clothes were spattered with blood, but he walked at such a leisurely pace it seemed he didn't even notice.

"No, but we have uninvited company."

"That's impossible!" the trespasser yelped. "The others should have spread your limbs over the floor by now!"

"How unfortunate that you thought yourselves so capable," Sebastian said. As he walked up to her, Ciel noticed a crow cawing from the balcony railing.

"Please, have mercy!" He seized the wrist that still had a hand attached to it, squeezing tightly. She cried out, and somehow there were four crows present, mocking her with their cawing. Ciel leaned back against the railing, arms folded, and watched Sebastian begin to pull her hand from her wrist. She screamed and flailed her handless right arm at the butler. Sebastian only gave a glowing, red-eyed stare and a condescending smile as he tore flesh apart. No fewer than eleven crows watched, their noise competing with the demon girl's screaming.

"Could you hurry this up, Sebastian?" Ciel asked over the cawing. In reality, he was enjoying the show. She deserved to have her hand ripped off after the way she shoved her disgusting claws down his throat to silence him before.

"Of course, my lord," Sebastian answered pleasantly.

"I was only following orders!" she cried.

He finally yanked her hand and arm apart from each other, forcing a shriek that was challenged by at least twenty crows. He stabbed his hand through her chest and promptly threw her to the floor. "I was hoping a wouldn't have to ruin yet another suit today," he said, unaffected by her pain. He looked at Ciel, who was staring down at the demon girl with a look of bitter dissatisfaction on his face. The crows began to quiet down as Sebastian stepped closer to his master. "Are you not pleased, Young Master?"

"No. In a few hours, she'll just put herself back together and crawl back to Andras."

"Well, there _are_ just a few ways to completely dispose of a demon."

"Such as?"

"It's considered one of the lowest ways to kill a demon, but for you, my young lord, I'm willing to use it." A full murder of crows was gathered around the balcony and had begun to raise their raucous noise. "You know what you must do." The crows grew more and more restless by the second as Sebastian pulled the tied string of Ciel's eyepatch. It fell to the boy's feet, allowing the butler to stare down at one reddened demon eye and one exposed contract seal.

"I order you, Sebastian, kill her and the other demons who attacked me."

He nearly shivered. It had been entirely too long since he last received an order like that, such passionate need for retribution delivered in the cold, detached tone. It was like the fire after walking through miles of blizzard, and he would have been happy to be consumed by the flames. He placed a bloody gloved hand over his heart and bowed his head.

"Yes, my lord."

he stepped to the large balcony doors, taking his time and carefully removing his gloves with his teeth. Once he reached the doors, he opened them wide. He petted one of the noisy birds with his marked left hand and whispered, "Eat up, little friend."

The crows sprang into motion, most flying into the home, the rest descending on the felled demon. They immediately started to peck the flesh from her body. Ciel stared down at the mass of birds as they devoured the demon, forcing final screams from her.

"It is done, young master."

"Will the crows be alright?"

"Indeed, my young lord. Our attendants can withstand any injury. I must ask, why the concern? I've never known you to be above discarding another life for your gain."

"I never said I was. It was only a question." He watched the crows a while longer. "I'm only now beginning to discover what manner of creatures they are. It seemed it would be a waste to let them get sick and die over the likes of those silly worms." He looked up at Sebastian. "I'm satisfied with their punishment."

"Then let's go inside, shall we? I take it you've met your attendants by now?" He ushered his young master inside.

"Yes."

"I must express that the spider is a very fitting title for you."

"How so?"

"I believe it was you who said that you would grab onto a single spider's thread of hope if it was ever presented to you. It's quite appropriate that your attendants should be the creatures who disperse those tiny threads."

"I still don't quite understand exactly what they are." He took a seat in front of the desk, resting his elbows on top and lacing his fingers together.

"They are the housekeepers of the eternal worlds. They've existed before the universe came into being, and will be left over to clean up what's left after the end of days. It's their task to remove the leftovers of angels and demons alike when this world ends."

A small black spider began to find its way up his arm toward his interlocked hands. "That's quite a task for such small creatures."

"Indeed. And until the time comes for them to devour the worlds, their sole purpose is service to their masters."

Ciel moved one hand to crush the spider between his thumb and forefinger. "Even at their own peril. Not even allowing themselves to die because of the feast they expect in the end." He watched to smashed spider regain its shape and crawl away. "Doesn't that sound familiar?"

"At one time, yes."

"Do you regret being my butler?"

"Do you regret being a demon?"

"I asked you first."

"I don't know. I don't take the time to become acquainted with the question, 'What if,' so I never have the chance to become infatuated with the proposed answers. And you, my young master?"

"I don't understand the concept, nor do I intend to. I find it foolish to become so stagnant mulling over a move I've already made that I can't even make my next move."

"And if the placement of your pieces is the result of someone else's tampering?"

"Sebastian. You should know by now I'm not in the habit of blaming others."

"Hm?" He looked down at his young master with piqued interest.

"The player is responsible for his side of the board at all times. Only he can stop his opponent from reaching over and rearranging his pawns. And if he fails at that, the goal is not to correct the disrupted piece, but to find the way to checkmate instead of the change. You can put your opponent at fault for tampering with your side, but you can't change the fact that it happened. Knowing that is the difference between winning and being crushed by your opponent."

A pleased smile graced Sebastian's features. Obviously, Ciel was alluding to becoming a demon instead of being devoured as planned. But he also seemed to be thinking about something else, a different game that was underway – or was just beginning. "Excuse me, my young master, but you speak as if the board prepared with a new game."

Ciel reached into his coat and produced a sheet of paper from the inside pocket. He opened it up and flattened it on the desk top, revealing the list of demons' names and marks. "Indeed. I have new pieces and new opponents this time, and they've already made their move." He ran his finger along the nine different symbols appearing on the list. "That girl. She said she was following orders. At first I thought this was merely the doing of some rogue servants hoping to take advantage of an inexperienced demon. But that doesn't seem to be exactly the case. It appears that this silly little council is trying to make a fool out of their new member."

"Do you intend to show them otherwise?"

"In good time. I have an eternity to deal with them; no need to be hasty."

"Very well, my lord." He became aware of another presence outside on the balcony. "Oh? It appears we have a correspondence from Firneus the Kraken." Ciel looked out at the balcony where a few crows finished up his former assailant. A very crab-like demon stood at the glass door, showing the mark of Firneus on the side of its head. Sebastian went out to receive the letter it carried and dismiss it. He handed the letter to Ciel, who promptly opened and read it.

"It's an invitation to one of his estates and a request to exchange favors."

"Ah, yes. Such is his custom. He offers business transactions with new council members to extend his welcome. Of course, it's a pretext to more fully evaluate our newest members, but he's quite a well-mannered demon."

"Well then. That sounds like the perfect chance to get a good look at my opponent's side of the board."

"Indeed. While I don't care much for his underwater estate, the property he keeps on land is one of the most quaint homes I've seen. But is there any favor you have to ask of him? Moreover, is there anything you could do for him?"

"Of course not. Still, it's rude to snub an invitation to one's home, don't you think?"

"Yes, Young Master. We shall make arrangements to visit immediately."


	5. His Master, Negotiating

Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler, nor do I own the Bible quote.

I apologize in advance for Sebastian's Big-Lipped-Alligator-Moment in this moment. XD Also, I imagine Firneus as looking kind of like Ulysses Grant, but of course with fully gray hair long enough to be put in a ponytail.

Also, normally I don't respond to review in my author's notes, but I like to thank people for leaving longer reviews. So Naya, thank you for your review and I would like to reply to it if you have an account or some other means of me contacting you.

Now enough of my rambling, enjoy the chapter.

* * *

Sebastian had been accurate in his description of Firneus' manor as "quaint." It was small for a lord's estate, but Sebastian insisted that it was more like a guest home and that the sea demon's actual estate underwater was far more extravagant than most manors. The dry estate was black and various dark shades of blue, very ornate, and situated close to a sea infested with demons dragging human souls with them. While escorting Ciel and Sebastian, a shark-skinned servant explained the the dry home was devoid of humans because the Lord Firneus preferred to have the souls' torment added to the unending sensation of drowning and thirst from being submerged in the extremely salty water.

Ciel and Sebastian were taken to a large room illuminated solely by an enormous glowing blue pentacle on the ceiling that represented the master. The pentagram had hooked arms, each with a line of three dots along the middle, mimicking the underside of an octopus. Some of his servants lined a wall. Ciel could see far better in the dark than when he was a human, so he could clearly make out Firneus' gray-bearded form sitting on a cushion in the dark. A small octopus rested on his shoulder, clinging to his neck with some of its arms and holding on to his low ponytail with another arm. The demon sat as if it were as common as a clothing accessory, ignoring the octopus even as it occasionally reached for his face.

"Welcome, Earl Phantomhive," he greeted. "Sit, sit. You as well, Butler." Two more cushions, dark blue with gold embroidery, lay before him for his two guests.

Ciel raised his eyebrow at the unconventional reception, but sat nonetheless. "I must advise you that currently I don't specialize in any tasks, so I doubt there are any favors I could exchange with you."

"You're quick to jump to business," Firneus commented.

"Naturally."

"Well, you're consummate to a newborn. It doesn't surprise me that all your ability rests in others right now."

"I never said _that._"

"You haven't shown otherwise, Phantomhive. And as someone who depends heavily on others, you'll need the guarantee that you'll remain admired by those you use. While I generally concern myself with maritime tasks, I'm also quite frequently summoned to ensure fame and admiration."

"You mistake my methods. I have no desire to be loved by the masses. Most humans who know my name – those still living, that is – associate it with their disdain for dealing with me and their personal contempt for me."

"You are no longer a human and you are no longer living among humans. It would serve you well to know however ruthless you think you were on earth will need to be increased tenfold if you hope to survive as a demon. I'm also feeling charitable enough to warn you that the Black Butler, the one you call Sebastian, is one of the weakest among our council."

"I hardly find that a fair judgment," Sebastian said in his defense.

Firneus glanced at him before looking at Ciel once more. "However, he tends to make up for it by being extremely cunning, especially at the expense of those around him."

"Sebastian has been my butler for over three years. I don't need you to describe him to me. As I told Andras, I have no reason to doubt him."

"Then you obviously have very limited firsthand exposure to the deceptive nature under his façade. In fact, I doubt you've scratched the surface."

Sebastian gave a pleased smile at that recognition, as did Ciel (much to Firneus' surprise). "I know," the young demon said.

"You don't take my warning nearly seriously enough."

"I believe you. And that's why I expect Sebastian to continue to serve me well. If he had already reached the limit of his abilities, I'd be seeking a new butler."

Firneus laughed. "I look forward to seeing you let your dear butler destroy you. Lord Phantomhive, let's interrupt this grim discussion for refreshments and a more congenial topic, shall we? Will somebody retrieve us something to eat?" He turned to the servants lining the wall and a few of them left the room. "Now," he looked back to the two guests, "if you don't mind, could you share how you came to be a demon? I imagine it must be a fascinating tale."

"I have acquired this form simply as a condition of someone's contract."

"It must be more exciting than that. It's no common occurrence to see someone who looks like you around here, much less a demon who looks like you."

_He's digging for information,_ Ciel thought. "Someone simply thought he would cause my butler great dissatisfaction by denying him the reward for our contract, my soul of course. I don't really care about the pitiful idea." Because he was looking at the Kraken, he missed the glare Sebastian quickly shot down at the side of his head. Firneus, however, did see it and directed his attention to the butler.

"So, _Sebastian_." He said the name thoughtfully, as if still getting accustomed to calling the Black Butler by that name. "I can't imagine you would like the arrangement very much."

Sebastian closed his eyes and gave one of his unique fox-like smiles. "So long as I remain contracted to my master, his satisfaction is my top priority."

"Still, the mere insult of having your contract interfered with in such a way. Are there no services I can offer to ease the plight?"

"I'm afraid those responsible are already dead."

"Ah, what a shame." His servants returned with three nude women, who rightfully looked more frightened than they had ever been of anything. They were pushed to their knees so that each knelt prostrate before the predatory gaze of one of the demons.

"They look nearly unscathed," Ciel commented.

"Of course," the Kraken replied. "I have some human souls reserved for myself and my guests. It would be ridiculous to eat leftovers from my servants." He promptly began to devour the soul, ripping screams from her.

"Indeed." Ciel could feel his teeth sharpening in his mouth, and his visible eye became red and slitted. The woman gave a defiant stare and looked ready to bolt at any moment. Before he could even touch her, she did just so. She was quickly halted as an octopus arm shot out from Firneus' sleeve and yanked her ankle. She crashed to the floor and was dragged kicking and screaming back to her place.

"Can't hold on to your food?" Firneus asked, parting from the torn neck of his meal.

"I just have yet to acquire a taste for dead souls."

"Unless you plan to live off contracts, you should get used to it."

Ciel elected not to respond and instead focused on his food. She was set on trying to remove the tentacle from her ankle and was caught off guard as Ciel lunged forward to bite down on the back of her neck. He damaged her spine well enough to save himself the trouble of her being able to struggle.

"Aren't you among the fortunate ones?" Sebastian cooed to his meal-to-be, who had begun crying profusely. He carefully guided his gloves off his hands with his teeth, smiling at her warmly all the while. Once bare, one hand cupped her face, a long thumb stroking her wet cheek. "You get to escape brutal torture by those barbaric little servant demons." He then ran his thumb along her lips softly and leaned closer to her. "You get to be swallowed up by a demon like me instead," he whispered, now squeezing her shoulder tightly with his other hand. She sobbed heavily and pushed at his chest. A chuckle came from less than a centimeter away from her lips. "I'm offended. You'd rather be devoured by another demon? That's not very kind."

Ciel scoffed beside him. "Sebastian. You're a several thousand-year-old demon, yet you need a three-month-old to tell you not to play with your food?"

His butler laughed. "Can I be blamed for having a bit of fun?" The comforting look he gave the woman transformed into a hungry stare as his eyes glowed with anticipation. Before the woman could react, he had his teeth buried into her throat.

The three demons finished quickly, leaving not even a single bone as a trace of their victims.

"I see you've developed quite a serious bite in your short time as a demon," Firneus commented to Ciel. "At least through your infancy, you'll have the ability to feed yourself." He chuckled, unfazed by the fact that Ciel was not amused. "In all seriousness, you amuse me, Phantomhive. You're far too confident for your own good, especially in that crow sitting next to you. You're going to destroy yourself, and if there's anything I can do to help that process along, please don't hesitate to ask."

"You should mind how you insult me. Children don't react well when offended."

"No need to take offense. In fact, I want you to feel completely welcome to ask me for assistance in your self-destructive endeavors."

Ciel smiled. "I appreciate the gesture. I'll try to take advantage of the offer to the best of my ability."

Firneus laughed. "In that case, shall I offer you some servants for your manor?"

"I'm no one to refuse a gift. Do you already have any in mind?"

"Indeed I do." He once more turned to his servants and ordered, "Someone write up a listing of the dry manor servants. I intend to transfer all of you to the Phantomhive Spider's house, if he will accept."

"I accept."

"Good. I hereby transfer all servants under the Firneus dry manor to that of Ciel Phantomhive as a gift." Ciel felt a small tingle coming from the mark on his hand at the conclusion of the statement. "They are now officially yours, but I expect you'll allow them up to a day to transition as I replace them?"

"Fine, fine. If we are done here, I'd like to return home and attend to a few other duties."

"Certainly. I'm glad we had this visit." The two guests stood as he spoke. "Allow one of your new servants to escort you out. And Sebastian." The butler turned his attention to the Kraken. "I think I'll have a hearty laugh at whatever comes of your contract with this child."

Sebastian only smiled and said nothing as he replaced his gloves on his hands. The two were guided out of the estate and sent on their way by a demon resembling a turtle. As they started on their way back, Ciel said, "You know him better than I do, so tell me, Sebastian. Do I have any need to worry about Firneus the Kraken?"

"No, my lord. He doesn't seek revenge for small offenses. As for his gifts, he won't go out of his way for you, but he will be very charitable with his aid."

"And why is that?"

"Because, Young Master, you've made quite an impression on him. In all my years, I've never seen anyone have such an effect on him so quickly. He hates you, quite thoroughly I might add. He'll give you any small gift as long as he thinks it will cause you trouble."

"How convenient to have such a willing benefactor. But one of his comments piqued my interest. How would I go about forming a contract of my own?"

"You would need the assistance of your attendants to take you to the haven where you form your contracts. They can travel between worlds far more easily than we can."

"The haven, you say?"

"Yes. If heaven is above the earth, and Hell is below it, the havens that some people call limbo exist alongside the earth. Neither demons nor angels can access them without the attendants' help, though some people believe that truly innocent but unfaithful humans can reach them."

"And who would possibly fit that description?"

"Infants, I'm told. What a shame our kind can't reach the havens where they are kept. I've discovered that infants have a very delicate flavor that can't be found elsewhere."

Ciel's eye widened as he looked up at Sebastian. "You've eaten babies, Sebastian?"

"Once or twice, in my less civilized days. But let's not dwell on such matters. Once we are back at the estate, your attendants can take you to your haven."

x

Sebastian patrolled the halls of Ciel's manor, checking on the few new servants who had already arrived. Four had already made their way to the estate and nine more were expected. The butler had been instructed to keep an eye on them, so he made sure to keep them occupied with cleaning while his master was visiting his haven. While watching a scaly servant scrub the dusty floors, he became aware of a visitor at the door seconds before he heard the actual knock. A feeling of dread suggested that he take his time walking to the door, so he did just that. Once in the foyer, he stood in front of the door for a moment and sighed. The was probably the last person he would want to treat as a guest (if not _the_ last, then second only to Grell Sutcliffe). However, it would be unseemly for a Phantomhive butler to refuse to open the door to a visitor.

He opened the door to a tall figure dressed in a black cloak and capelet with a top hat upon his head, confirming the dreadful feeling.

"Welcome," he said cheerily, admitting the visitor in. "I'm afraid the master of the house is away."

"Oh? I was certain he would be in." The visitor tipped his hat back, fully revealing a face that almost perfectly mirrored Sebastian's. "No matter. I was hoping to speak to you first anyway, my dear little crow."

"Black Thief, I am in no position to receive guests of my own. If you wanted to see me, you should have announced such and arranged to visit my estate."

"Announcing and arranging? Silly crow, haven't you read? 'The day of the Lord shall come as a thief in the night.' In a similar fashion, I've come here to offer your very salvation."

Sebastian sighed and lifted his palm to his forehead. "Do tell what on earth you are talking about."

"Your contract. The little Phantomhive boy's haughtiness made it obvious to me. You're stitched quite tightly to him for a long time, and he holds the end of the thread. But I can take it from him, you know. Yes, my little crow, I can slip it from his little fingers and re-stitch it for myself as I please. All I need is for you to wiggle a little bit by abrogating your end of the contract, and that will loosen the thread enough for me to snatch it from your little master."

"I will do nothing of the sort. It was by my own doing that I became bound to him. I do not require salvation from my own contract."

"Hm." The Black Thief began to pace thoughtfully. "You really are scheming something, aren't you? I'm forced to wonder, why is it that the boy said he owns your 563 servants when I specifically recall you owning 584 servants?"

"I signed some properties over to the other council members."

"Ah. Any specific reason?"

"I need not explain myself to you."

"Still as guarded as ever. One of the many reasons you so affect me."

"And I was hoping your obsession had transferred to your protégé."

"Claude Faustus was a very good student of mine; he learned to steal a soul in less than two years, in fact. But he bored me. He could hold a very stoic façade, but he was truly not much different from the rabble that collect our food for us. The only reason I gave him my council seat was that I believe he could kill you if given a chance and a reason."

"Yet another incorrect prediction by the esteemed Black Thief." He was alerted to Ciel's return. "I'm afraid I'll have to cut this banter short. My master has returned." He began to walk away to the study. "I'll announce your visit. In the meantime, attempt to keep your hands to yourself. Don't touch anything."

"Of course, dear cousin. You don't have to say it twice."

Sebastian gave a last glance at the Thief as he mounted the stairs. He did not need to be too concerned about his kinsman stealing any material items, he noted, not as concerned as he should be about what else the Thief could steal.


	6. His Master, Visiting

Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler, nor do I own the quote from "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner."

Once again, short chapter, I'm afraid. But Sebastian gets sexually harassed.

* * *

"My lord, the Black Thief," Sebastian announced as he admitted his kinsman into the study."

"Very good," Ciel responded. "You're dismissed."

Sebastian bowed slightly before exiting, leaving Ciel with the guest. The small demon watched the Black Thief as he walked to a chair in front of his desk. Having given his cloak and hat to the butler, he looked eerily like Sebastian in his black suit to the point that Ciel could have mistaken the two.

Thief seated himself before Ciel and leaned back comfortably in his chair. "So I finally get to visit with the demon child everyone is so taken with. I must apologize for the neglect this house was left in. You see, I planned to relinquish my council seat to the previous owner of this house, Claude Faustus, but he didn't own any servants. I donated some of mine to him so he could meet the property requirement. Once he died, I took them back."

"Why would you give him your seat? I can't imagine any demon giving away something like that out of the kindness of his heart."

"I had hoped he would kill the Black Butler."

"Right. I was meaning to ask you about your fascination with him. I thought you liked him, but at the some time you're trying to kill him?"

"Dear boy, are you familiar with the saying that idle minds are the devil's playground?"

"I am."

"Yes, well, I'm the unfortunate prey of the boredom that plagues most of the higher-ranking demons. Unlike most of our kind, who are content to sin mindlessly in their torment of human souls, I've lost interest in such insignificant pastimes. Likewise, other demons bore me, and contracts are often so pointless that they're not worth the trouble of forming them. But your butler, on the other hand, I find very interesting. I would even go so far as to say I'm fond of him. So I decided one day, if this thing I admire were to be destroyed, perhaps I would feel a sincere emotion about it."

"So why don't you go ahead and kill him yourself? That sounds like the most efficient way to me, rather than wasting your time and resources trying to have him killed in some roundabout fashion. In fact, you're stronger than him, aren't you? It would be easy for you to kill him."

"I wouldn't go so far as to call it easy, but I likely would be capable of killing him myself. But there is _something_ holding me back, dear boy. You see, I greatly value my aesthetics as well. Doesn't it just sound ugly: 'I killed my relative because I was bored.' There's no attractive way to say that. No, I want the circumstances of his death to be perfect."

"I see. Now that I have that straightened, allow me to make something very clear to you. Sebastian is my contracted butler, and as such, he belongs to me. If you try to harm him, that is deliberate defacing of my property, which will be taken as an affront against me. And Black Thief, I don't respond well to personal attacks."

Thief laughed and gave a fox-like smile. Ciel nearly gasped at the familiar sight and would have done so had he not quickly reminded himself that this demon was not Sebastian.

"Worry not, dear boy. You have my word that I will not attempt to have your butler killed as long as he is contracted to you. However," he opened his eyes, keeping a pleasant smile, "there must be something you'd be willing to give up your contract for."

"Absolutely not."

"Come now. My area of expertise is restoring things that have been taken or lost."

"Lost." He looked out the window to find an expanse of dark landscape. "Once something is truly lost, it can never be returned. I'm old enough to know that." His manor, his servants, his duty as Earl of Phantomhive. These were only a few things lost to him that would never be regained.

"Perhaps I was not specific enough. Many times when we say something is lost, what we really mean is that we simply don't know where it is or how to get it back. It's my job to steal back things that have been taken and hidden away from their rightful owners."

"I do not want for anything you could dig from anyone's pockets."

"Dear boy, the things I steal are not limited to monetary valuables. If that was all I could do, what kind of thief would I be?"

Ciel turned to look at the Black Thief and found the tall demon at his side, towering over his chair.

"Or perhaps you'd rather I take something from you?" His dark eyes took on a red glow as he began to trail his finger along Ciel's jawline. He leaned forward so that his face was right above the earl's. "Is that what you'd prefer, to get rid of something you have no use for?"

"What on earth do you think you're doing, Seba-..." Ciel trailed off as he realized what he was about to call Thief.

"Sebastian?" He laughed before occupying his free hand with petting Ciel's hair. "Your butler must be very professional. I imagine he's never even considered touching you in a way inappropriate for a servant to touch his master." His hand slid down to nimbly unbutton the boy's blue suit jacket. "Have you devised fantasies in which he crosses that line? Fortunately for you, I am not restricted by such barriers of custom." As Ciel felt Thief mapping the shape of his torso under the jacket, he found himself unable to stop staring at the pair of slit pupils above him. "If you're looking to have something taken from you, then I can't imagine a demon, child or not, having any need to hold on to his virtue."

Ciel frowned. His virtue? How laughable. Sebastian was there to spill the blood of the ones who had robbed him of his very childhood. This was the Black Thief, not Sebastian, so why was he allowing this near stranger to touch all over him like this? Who did the Black Thief think he was to touch Ciel Phantomhive so easily? "If my virtue is what you're attempting to steal, you're much too late." He pushed Thief's hand away from his face. "Sebastian, our guest is overstaying his welcome."

Within a matter of seconds, Sebastian had entered the room, made his way to his master, and interposed himself between Ciel and the Black Thief. "Young Master, has this man harmed you?"

"No, but I tire of him. Escort him out."

"Let this be a lesson to you, dear boy," Thief said. "I can be quite the sneaky devil." He allowed himself to be escorted out by Sebastian. On the way downstairs, a smirk found its way onto his face. "If I remember correctly, that boy was once a human, wasn't he?" He waited for a response, but received none. "What a shame he's a demon now, by whatever freak caused such a change. Every moment you spend with him must mock you terribly now that you can't eat him."

They reached the foyer, where the Black Thief waited as Sebastian retrieved his cloak and hat. When he returned, Thief's expression was as smug as ever. "Water, water everywhere, and all the boards did shrink. Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink," he recited.

Sebastian replaced his kinsman's cloak silently and handed him his hat. "Now, I believe you have something to return as well."

"Whatever do you mean, little cousin?"

Sebastian extended his hand to the Black Thief with a serious expression. "The document, please."

"Can't I at least have a peek at it?" He produced a folded paper from underneath his cloak, toying with it idly.

"No."

"Hmm, it must be rather important if you're so secretive about it." He fingered the edge, acting as if he was about to unfold it.

Sebastian reached to take it away, but Thief was faster and managed to move the paper from his reach. "Now, now, no need for snatching." He handed the paper over to Sebastian, who quickly pocketed it.

The butler went to open the door for his relative, but found himself with his back pressed to the large door and his arms pinned to his sides. The Thief's face was close to his own, smiling complacently.

"I haven't yet had a chance to greet you officially. Welcome back." He nuzzled into the crook of Sebastian's neck and clasped their hands together. Sebastian allowed this, knowing that as long as Thief's hands were held like that, they wouldn't be able to find their way around anything of value. "My lovely little crow," he whispered to the butler. "It appears we're starting a new little game. And your master... Let's just say I do quite like him."

"Are you finished?" Sebastian asked, undaunted by the close contact.

"Indeed." He straightened as if nothing happened.

Sebastian opened the door for Thief. As the visitor exited, he issued a warning. "Black Thief, remember that as I remain bound to my master, it is no one's place to touch him without my consent. It disgusts me to know your crooked talons were on him." Thief smiled and continued walking out. Sebastian closed the door and began to make his way back upstairs. _However,_ he thought, _sometimes the foulest-tasting medicine is just the treatment to get everything back in order._

Once he was back at the study, Ciel immediately questioned Sebastian. "Does the Black Thief pose a serious threat to me?"

"My, my," Sebastian responded. "You've been asking your chess piece for advice quite freely lately."

"You've stood in the place of my tutors before. I don't see how this is any different. Now, tell me about the Thief."

"The Black Thief is generally very neutral to those he does not care for. As the name suggests, he has rather sticky fingers and his hands should be kept in plain view at all times." He produced the paper he received from Thief and placed it on the desk. "Especially since he's rather inquisitive, he'll glean whatever meaning he can from stolen items."

Ciel opened the paper and his eye immediately widened. It was the list Sebastian had given him of the now-dead servants. "How did he...?"

"He took it from inside your jacket once you summoned me."

Ciel crushed the paper in his fist. The damned Thief had caught him completely off guard. "Sebastian."

"Yes?"

"Would you be able to protect me against the Black Thief?"

"Of course, Young Master. I will protect you with my very life, until the day I swallow your soul."

Ciel thought he detected some small amount of bitterness with the last part of that statement, but decided he was imagining it upon inspection of Sebastian's sincere countenance. "He said he's stronger than you. Can you defend me against a demon like that?"

"Young Master, where would I be if I couldn't protect you against one silly thief? He is stronger than me, and he does move slightly faster than me. However, unlike him, I'm not allowed to be killed."

"Does that make a difference?"

"It makes all the difference in the world. Does the young master have so little faith in me?"

"You already know I'm not exactly the faithful type."

"Then do you trust me?"

Ciel paused before answering. Did he? Did he ever trust Sebastian, or was it just the contract itself he put his confidence in? Sebastian was a demon, after all, a creature who came to his aid only with the expectation of a meal. Sebastian had even tried to kill him upon discovering his master's fate. And now, the only way to escape his current condition was to die.

Ciel folded the paper and returned it to his pocket. "No, I don't trust you."

Sebastian looked genuinely surprised by the response. "Then I have failed you as a butler."

"It only makes sense. You would stand to benefit the most by dying. That way you wouldn't have to serve me anymore. It has nothing to do with your success as a butler."

"Young Master, I beg to differ. It is not my position to seek release from duty. If I have done anything that suggests I am seeking termination, then I have behaved in an extremely inappropriate manner."

Sebastian was so convincing, and his logic, as always, seemed flawless. Ciel had never considered where his trust lied as far as his butler was concerned. Sebastian's service had just always seemed like the change of the seasons or the sky being blue, one of those natural laws that you don't waste your time challenging. Now, being faced with the prospect of that natural law being repealed, Ciel had to reconsider how valid he thought it was in the first place. He didn't want to dwell on the unsettling topic and decided to change the subject. "How are the new servants behaving so far?"

"Those in the house are working well, and I've assigned a few to gather human souls. At the moment, six of the thirteen have not yet been accounted for."

"Good. If they cause any trouble, make sure they receive appropriate reprimand."

"Of course, Young Master."

"And while the others are on the way, set up a meeting for me with one of the coucil members."

"Yes, my young lord. I was actually thinking, perhaps you could resume violin lessons under the instruction of the Water Nixie. Becoming a demon is no excuse to fall behind in your music abilities."

"Do I honestly have any need to resume taking _violin_ lessons?"

"I don't see why not. You are a distinguished young man, aren't you? And she's a most excellent instructor. Or would you rather continue your dancing lessons?"

Ciel glared and gave an irritated pout. "Sebastian, arrange a meeting with the Water Nixie and be prepared to set a regular tutoring schedule for me."

Sebastian laughed. "As you wish, my lord."


End file.
